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International Lacrosse Team Gear Top 10

If you know anything about 412Lax, you know that he takes his fashion week seriously.  The dude has been PUMPING out lacrosse fashion related content all week and its been killer.  There have been backpanels that will shock you.  Short that will make you beg and plead.  Gloves that you would gladly trade your own hands for.  And then there have been his top 50 gear item lists.  Those have been partcicularly insightful and awe-inspiring.

In honor of 412’s superior fashion effort and his love of the Pittsburgh Penguins (not to mention the fact that he will be attending the Winter Classic), we’ll start out with a time lapse of the rink’s construction at Heinz Field Stadium Complex.  After that, we’ll get to the uniforms with input from myself and the one and only Godzilla, Destroyer of Worlds.

International Lacrosse Teams Uniform Top 12

So it isn’t a top 10, its 2 more.  That’s better than Spinal Tap even.  Because its one more.

12. Scotland

Godzilla: Scotland is not particularly unique, but it’s clean and elegant, worthy of a Scotsman. The leaping lion looks great on the all-white gloves and all-white helmet (only in this case)… The all-white alternate jersey makes them look a bit like a bunch of Storm troopers, especially with those Riddell helmets… then again, I don’t know if all-white Pro 7s would have had the same effect.  The Riddell does look like a lion’s head, somehow.

Wilson: Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow.  What?  Yeah, two colors, white helmet.  It works.  This has been scientifically proven.  Next.

Scotland Lacrosse FIL World Championships National Team lax
Simple but solid effort.

11.Holland

Godzilla: Wearing the full orange is gutsy and the helmet is Syracuse-ish (thought it doesn’t match the uniform’s orange). The lacrosse team followed in their national soccer team’s foot steps by wearing Orange instead of their national flag colors. Like Bermuda, it is unique and can easily be identified from a field oft full of blue, white and red.  The only out of place thing about the whole get-up is the all white gloves with not even a hint of orange on them.

Wilson: Glory through ostentatious decoloration is possible, but only when one’s attention to detail is equal to his ambition.  I think I just made up a word.  But what I said is absolutely true.  Bright in concept is great only if the follow through is up to the mark.  Too short?  No rollercoaster for you.  LOVE the idea though!

Holland The Netherlands Dutch Lacrosse Lax FIL World Championships
lots of orange, not in concert.

10. Hong Kong

Godzilla:  Making the best of a two-color scheme, the pro 7 looks special with the flag logo on the side of the helmet.  The dragon scale prints sublimated on to the side of the uniform brings out the Chinese heritage.  The reverse all white jersey doesn’t look bad either, the only other team that looked this good in all-red is an Ivy league team from Ithaca, New York.

Wilson:  Two colors is tough.  Hong Kong did well with it and I like the scales because its different uses texture instead of a flashy third color.  Not that a 3rd color wouldn’t be ok.  This is lacrosse, the more colors, the better.  Well most of the time.  I am digging the helmet logo.

HOng Kong Lacrosse lax FIL WOrld Championships
Looking goooooooood....

9. Argentina

Godzilla: Simple, Clean, and Subtle (SCS?) is the theme of Argentina. Baby Blue and White on this new South American team work just as well as if they were UNC. I’m not a fan of the Brine helmet, but Argentina makes it work without the need for busy decal like some other team (USA).  The Gold trim is a nice touch and not a lot can pull it off, but they did.  I am with Wilson on the Harrow gloves, I never find them that appealing. But this Argentina glove is certainly easy on the eyes, and actually makes Harrow gloves look good. Probably one of the best looking teams, considering the budget they had to work with.  Maybe a white chin strap would have been a nice touch; the black one looked a bit out of place.

Wilson: I like these.  I like them a lot.  Here’s what they should do in 2014:  Black cleats. Black socks. Black shorts.  Get sponsored by Adidas.  This is a relationship made in heaven when you think about the Argentina Adidas Soccer relationship.  White Jerseys.  Powder blue helmets with 3 HUGE white stripes on it done by Headwrapz to look like Adidas.  Black Adidas gloves with a little Carolina trim.  This is probably the best uniform ever.  Hopkins should do it this year.

Argentina lacrosse world championships FIL lax
A good first effort and pretty clean.

8. Bermuda

Godzilla:  The eyebrow-raiser of the national teams… One of the most common things people said about Bermuda’s uniform choice is that they looked like a certain MLL team that used to be based out of LA.  Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. But I do like their spirit and them having the #$%@s to rock those colors without looking like a summer tournament team. It’s not easy to have Orange and Green custom gloves, but they went for it instead of hiding behind the recent white mania. And for that reason, it certainly make them look apart from the rest of the “generic color” national teams at the most recent World Games.

Wilson:  I don’t hate it.  I don’t love it.  I think it’s just a matter of what you personally like.  Some people like this.  I don’t.  Bright and busy is too much for me, its better to primarily focus on one.  The gloves are cool but 95% teal would have been even cooler.  There’s always 2014!!  Also, why go crazy with the uniform and gloves and then bore me to death with the lid?  At least be consistent.

Bermuda Lacrosse Lax FIL world Championships
Can't miss them, that's for sure!

7. Wales

Godzilla:  The Christmas theme color is Wales handicap right off from the start, but they somehow make it work. The giant Dragon on the side of their helmet is unique, seem to work with the font on their uniform well. And as much as I dislike the white helmet, it helps the balance the overall white, green, and red on the uniform…

Wilson: Without that helmet decal, I wouldn’t consider them but that is awesome.  I think they shouuld embrace the green and red more and lose the white.  Use it as an accent.  All red uniforms, red helmets with green trim, a white dragon decal and green gloves with red fingers.  Green cleats.  BE the ball, Danny.  BE Your Destiny.

Wales Welsh Lacrosse Lax Helmet logo FIL World Championships
That is pretty super.

6. Australia

Godzilla:  The team that does not need to go by their national flag color, and the only Adidas sponsored team out of the whole bunch. The full Adidas package looks good, I especially like the Sharks on the helmet. I wish they could have gone with the Yellow or Green instead of the white shell. Perhaps they need to work on the fitting of their jersey a little better, so the undershirt won’t show up too much (not shown in this picture).

Wilson:  Any team that goes white instead of yellow when they have that option is crazy.  Yellow helmet, BIG green 7 pointed stars, white chin, silver cage.  done deal.  I liked the shark logo, that could have gone on the other side.  Overall, it was a pretty good effort and I’d only want a pair of those Adidas gloves if I could get them in green and yellow like the Aussies had.  A good effort try for a traditionally conservative country when it comes to uniforms.

Australia USA FIL World Championships lacrosse lax
Lotsa Yellow. Want more.

5. Japan

Godzilla:  Call me bias, but Japan uniform looked terrific. Here’s another country that did not follow the color of their national flag, and we’re thankful for that. The Royal, Black and White made them the John Hopkins of the 2010 World Game (with a little better performance). Their jersey reminded me of what the Blue Jays would wear on the field; their numbers are very “soccer” style, but original.  The white and black gloves is purposefully done to match both of their uniforms (the other jersey is all black). The “japan” graphic on the side of the helmet is a lot better than if they had put the national flag on it.

Wilson: I appreciate it when national teams’ uniforms diverge from the colors of their nation’s flag.  Sport is not government so the two must only be mixed when one (usually govt) supports the other.  Forging an identity with the people under your own colors is an interesting approach.  Japan did a great job with their uniforms.  Super cool and in line with a lot of their other national team jerseys.

Japan lacrosse lax Germany WOrld cHampionships FIL 2010
Clean lines and a modern approach with touches of fashions past.

4. Germany

Godzilla:  The second best-looking team in Black, after New Zealand (of course). Team Germany looked menacing with the red and yellow and the custom Kings were something special. The dominating red on the gloves helped balance the majority of Black on the uniform. Good call on keeping yellow simply as a trim on the whole uniform, and their logo is one of the best out there.

Wilson:  They looked good and German. 100% success. No further comment required.

3. Canada

Godzilla:  Call me sentimental, but I like how Canada has kept their uniforms consistent in the last few World Games. It draws a certain sense of evolution over the years; the professionalism as opposed to the “shock and awe” approach of Team Apollo Creed… eh, I mean the USA.  Canada set the bar of how a national team should look at the Olympics, that is if lacrosse were to be one of the sports at the Olympics. They too make the Brine helmet work, they had me at the bi-color shell (in the back).  I wish they would have the reverse version of their gloves, not this white mania crap.

Wilson:  The two-tone helmets were legit.  They pull a little black in to their uniforms for contrast but they don’t go too far away from the Red and White.  And Maple Leafs everywhere.  No problems there.  I didn’t love the USA Uniforms.  Their two-tone helmets were VERY sharp but their gloves were easily the single best piece of equipment at the entire tournament.  Those gloves were just… wow.  Special.

USA_Canada_lacrosse fil world championships lacrosse lax
Both helmets are scrumtrulescent.

2. New Zealand

Godzilla:  There isn’t much you can do when all your sport teams’ nickname is “the All-Blacks”, but New Zealand made it look goooood.  The Black Pro 7, Black Nike Uniform, Black K18s (yes, ALL black)… New Zealand looked pretty badass even before they do that pre-game Hakka. Clean, Professional, and Murderous.

Wilson:  They looked awesome.  You can’t argue with that.

Pritzlaff Brothers - Alex New Zealand Lacrosse FIL world Championships
This is a very good thing.

1. Iroquois

Godzilla:  Nike definitely took a big blow to the guts, when the Iroquois couldn’t make it to Manchester. They would have been the best looking/most well-equipped team of the 2010 World Games. They had the best looking helmet too… who would have thought that a purple helmet could look this good? The Nike six nations looks good (very well should be, it was “named” after them). Oh, and those Brine Shakedowns are epic, if the L.A. Lakers were a lacrosse team, those are the gloves they would use. The last and final nail in the #1 coffin are those purple/yellow cleats with the black socks, simply the best.

Wilson:  Um, what he said.

iroquois-nationals lacrosse uniform nike lax
Man, this kind of makes me sad. But excited for 2014.